UNITY, Maine — A Freedom man was charged with drunken driving after allegedly attempting to steal a snowmobile and trying to get away.

Michael Wilson, 26, of Belfast Road was arrested after the Sunday night incident and charged with operating while under the influence of intoxicants, operating beyond license restriction, and attempted theft.

Waldo County Chief Deputy Robert Keating said a Unity couple were watching television in their Bangor Road home about 9:20 p.m. Sunday when they noticed a pickup truck stop outside and park at a strange angle with its lights on. When the man went outside to see what was happening, he realized the male driver was attempting to load a snowmobile onto his truck. The Skidoo was on the side of the road with a $1,500 for-sale sign.

The homeowner called the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department and reported that the man drove off toward Unity in a white Dodge pickup truck with its lights off. He described the driver as having dark hair and wearing a brown jacket and bluejeans.

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A short time later, Deputy David Mushrall encountered a similar truck on Mount View Road in Thorndike driving without its lights on. Mushrall followed the truck to Thorndike Road in Unity where he and Sgt. Dale Brown made the traffic stop. The driver fit the description of the man the homeowner caught in the act of trying to steal his snowsled.

Brown and Mushrall placed Wilson under arrest and took him to the Waldo County Jail in Belfast. Wilson was released Monday on $2,500 cash bail.

A second person later told deputies that he saw the attempted theft, Keating said Tuesday.